Online Dog Training: Does It Work And Can It Help You?

Online dog training is an easy relaxed way to learn more about training your pet. Dog training is one of the most integral parts of being a pet owner and you want to ensure that everything goes smoothly over the course of your dog’s life. Pet training will help you develop your bond with your pet as well as ensuring that it will listen to you. However, the way you will train your dog is not always evident.

You have a few options at your disposal when it comes time to choose a training method for your dog. For example, you can go the traditional route and opt for a book to teach you how to train your dog. However, having access to the internet means that books on this subject are quickly becoming obsolete.

A website can be updated in seconds where a book will have to be reprinted. If you are trying to share the most accurate information with the largest number of people, you will find that a dog training website may be the best option. Let’s take a look at some of the details, however.

Does Online Dog Training Work?

One of the most important things to consider before you decide to start training your dog is the training method that you opt for. As we have already stated, you will typically want to opt for a dog training method which uses a website if you prefer convenience. There are other options, but most aren’t as simple.

When you opt to participate in online dog training, you can train your dog right from the comfort of your own home. While taking your dog to a professional trainer is more likely to guarantee results, you may not end up having the time to participate in this type of dog training.

Dog trainers will be able to guarantee results, but many pet owners are too busy to be able to attend training classes for their dog every week or so. While there may be services which can train your dog without your presence, these are usually some of the most pricey choices for dog training.

So this begs the question, is online dog training really the best choice you have? If you are even moderately busy, we would argue that no dog training program will be able to match the ease and convenience that you get out of online dog training. Of course, it is difficult to define online dog training as a whole.

It is challenging to define online dog training because its quality can vary drastically from service to service. While one online dog trainer could be one of the best canine training programs in the world, another one could end up with your dog hating you. This is why you should choose the best trainer possible.

Aside from making your life easier and your dog more obedient, dog training is an excellent way for you to get to know a new dog. For first-time pet owners, this initial process is one of the most integral times. The first year or two of pet ownership is when you establish the groundwork for years to come.

Even if you aren’t purchasing your first ever dog, it can sometimes be difficult to move on from a previous pet, so taking some time to spend with your new dog can help get things started off. What better opportunity do you have to get to know your dog beside training them?

Benefits Of Online Dog Training

24/7 Availability

One of the main advantages of training your dog using an online program is that you will be able to choose your dog’s training schedule. While in-person training programs are usually easier to get accustomed to thanks to the presence of an instructor, you will find that the hours tend to be very limited.

If you are working on a confined schedule, more restrictive dog training programs will be more difficult for you to get into without making sacrifices in other areas. When you opt to train your dog online, you will be able to find the time which accommodates you best instead of having to settle.

Being comfortable with the time that you have chosen to train your dog means that you will be able to get more accomplished since you will be able to apply yourself with greater ease. If you don’t want to be training your dog in the first place, you will find it much more difficult to get results.

Multimedia Resources

While nothing can beat the touch of a dog trainer, you will find that there are few other dog training options which can match the capabilities of an online training program. Depending on your aptitude for dog training, you may find that an online program can end up going much more smoothly than in-person training.

Keep in mind that there is the simple fact that some dogs will not like strangers. If your dog is wary of people who it is not accustomed to, you will find that in-person dog training is not the best option. If you believe that your dog would rather learn from you, we would recommend online training.

One of the reasons for online dog training being such an excellent option is the vast array of multimedia files that you have available for dog training. From infographics to help you train your dog in the most efficient way possible all the way down to audio guides so you can hear expert advice.

Perhaps the most useful multimedia format for dog training is a video guide. Videos, which are very common in online dog training services, tend to be one of the best ways for you to train your dog outside of a trainer. With enough practice, a video guide may end up being just as helpful as any other method.

That is not the limit of the multimedia resources which will be at your disposal from a quality online dog training service, however. Some of the best trainers on the internet will have interactive training guides that will teach you how to train your dog using games, quizzes, and other methods.

Price

Of course, one of the most integral considerations when choosing the ideal online dog trainer is the price of their services. Most of the dog training companies on the internet will offer access to their sites for a moderate subscription fee that can be paid out monthly, quarterly, or even annually.

You can choose how long to subscribe to your favorite dog training service based on how long you see yourself training your dog. Of course, you can always add time to your subscription, later on, so you don’t have to worry about signing up for too short of a time to train your dog effectively.

Keep in mind that signing up for longer chunks of time will often give you better value for money. For example, where you may pay 15 dollars per month when you pay your subscription fee every month, you may only have to pay 50 dollars for four months of dog training.

Since different dogs will be trained in different amounts of time, you will have to make an educated guess as to how long you expect the training process to last. While it can be tough to select the length of your subscription before you get to know your dog, we would usually recommend started with a month-long subscription.

When opting for the best program for online dog training, you will want to search for the best value for money. While one would assume that the best online dog training will be the program with the highest price, you will find that some of the more affordable choices may be better suited for some customers.

You will find that some online dog training services can cost more but offer much of the same when it comes to services. You do not want to fall into the trap of overpaying for your dog’s training. Some services will offer additional, unnecessary subscriber benefits for a higher price which you will sometimes want to avoid.

Depending on the company you opt for, the quality of your dog’s training for the price that you pay will vary. It is evident that some dog trainers are in the business for money more than anything while others genuinely care about the betterment of pets and improving their lives.

Since online dog training programs don’t have to deal with the upkeep of physical facilities and as much staff as a traditional dog training center, they will have lower overhead. Lower expenses for the business that you are patronizing will mean lower rates in the end for you, as a customer.

You Are Learning From Experts

Another one of the primary advantages of online dog training is that canine experts create most of the programs. While you may assume that the quality of the training that you get out of an online program is inferior to training which is done in person, this is simply not the case.

More and more reputable pet training schools are moving to a system which is mostly based online. If you have been waiting to switch to online pet training, there is no better time than now, when most of the world’s best pet trainers are changing their business model to something new.

If you care about the quality of training that your pet gets, it is important to ensure that the right people formulate the advice you are getting. Anyone could give you tips on how to train your dog, but it takes a certain amount of training and education to know how to teach a dog with ease.

A dog trainer who uses experts, regardless of whether they are based online or otherwise, will often have superior results to a trainer with instructors trained to a lower standard. If you want your dog to learn how to obey you correctly, you should opt for a certified dog training service.

How Dogs Learn

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning is largely viewed as one of the best ways to teach animals to do anything. Regardless of whether you are trying to teach a dog or a mouse, you will find that operant conditioning is a critical part of ensuring that you get the desired outcome out of your training.

This form of conditioning works by ensuring that your dog understands when it is doing something right and when it is doing something wrong. While it may be more challenging to teach an animal that they are making a mistake than it is to do so with a person, you will find that it is still more than possible.

Before we consider how we are going to motivate the animal to do what we need, we will have to find something which the pet enjoys. The easiest thing to use to motivate an animal when you are performing operant conditioning is food. Finding food is usually one of the primary goals over the course of an animal’s life.

Logically, this would mean that we could punish or reward an animal using food when they respond to our training in a certain way. This forms the base of operant conditioning (also known as instrumental conditioning). Let’s take a look at how this would work for a dog.

If you are trying to teach your dog to sit down, you will repeat the command (in this case, “sit”) until your dog listens to you.

When your pet obeys your command, you can feed them a bit of food as a reward.

On the other hand, if your dog does not listen to you, you will have to withhold food until it does.

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning is a little more complicated than operant conditioning, but it is still relatively simple. Where operant conditioning takes place after the stimulus, you will find that classical conditioning takes place before the stimulus. Classical conditioning works through associating an unrelated stimulus to another.

This form of conditioning is also referred to as Pavlovian conditioning, and it is a little easier to explain through examples. If your dog gets excited every time, it is about to go out, going outside is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and getting excited is the unconditioned response (UCR).

If you want to condition your pet, you will have to associate a neutral stimulus with the UCS. For example, if your neutral stimulus is the jingling of your dog’s leash, it will become paired with the action of going outside. This means that your dog will associate the sound of its leash with going outside.

Classical conditioning can take place either on purpose or coincidentally. The example we gave involving the leash is a form of Pavlovian conditioning which usually takes place naturally over the course of a dog’s life, but this type of training can also be used purposefully. Operant and classical conditioning both have their uses, however.

Non-Associative Learning

Non-associative learning takes place independently of conditioning. It is a type of learning which occurs automatically with repeated exposure to certain stimuli. In a person, an example of non-associative learning would be the ability to ignore a TV which is playing in the background while working.

Non-associative learning is one of the most significant steps in the learning process for animals, and the same holds true for your dog. If you want to teach your dog how to behave correctly, you will have to use non-associative learning just as much as you would use the other conditioning methods.

Different Types Of Dog Training

Koehler Method

The Koehler method of dog training is still one of the most well-known techniques across the world, even fifty years after it was first outlined. This system of dog training places more emphasis on your pet’s successful completion of the actions that you recommend over the course of its training.

This method draws a lot of inspiration from Operant conditioning thanks to its implementation of rewards and punishments. In the Koehler method, it is recognized that dogs make their own decisions and the point of training is to make your desired outcome seem like the most attractive option for your dog.

When the Koehler method was first published, it was met with widespread criticism, and it was even banned outright in certain states and communities. Now that some time has passed since this method of pet training was created, Koehler’s teachings have endured the passage of time.

Motivational Training

The next method used for dog training is the motivational method. This training technique is quite simple in that it consists of omitting punishment entirely. Motivational training is based on the idea that living beings tend to react more strongly to positive reinforcement than negative reinforcement.

Instead of punishing your dog when it doesn’t accomplish its task in training, you try again. When your dog completes the task that it has been given, you can reward it. While this method may take longer than more traditional training techniques, you will find that it makes for better lesson retention.

Clicker Training

While clicker training takes its name from the metal clickers which have been traditionally used over the course of that particular training style, you will find that it doesn’t always involve one. Clicker training can use any other method for positive reinforcement, as long as it is used in the same way as a clicker.

This type of dog training is similar to motivational training in that you focus on what your dog does right instead of what it does wrong. The point of clicker training is to make it easier to condition your dog than while using food. A clicker, or any similar device, will be able to reinforce a dog’s actions more concisely than otherwise.

Electronic Training

Dog training of this variety is also referred to as electric shock training. Should you choose to train your dog using this method, it will usually have to wear a collar which is capable of emitting mild electric shocks. Whenever your dog does something wrong, an electric shock is used as a method of punishment.

The effectiveness of electronic dog training is a subject of considerable debate. It has been proven that electric training works but many question whether or not it is humane. One thing which has been shown is that electronic training is ideally suited for the use of training guard dogs and other aggressive canines.

How Can Online Resources Help You Train Your Dog?

Training Videos

One of the best ways to train your dog online is with the help of training videos. It can sometimes be difficult to tell what a diagram wants you to do to train your dog but a video will often make instructions clear. If you have trouble understanding, you can always rewatch the video as many times as you want.

Unlike a dog training class, where you will have to stop the whole class to ask a question, you can go over a training video as many times as you want without inconveniencing anyone. Training videos are one of the most helpful online dog training resources that you will come across.

Reading eBooks And Other Materials

Some of the best online dog training programs will give you access to all of the dog training materials that you could hope for. From ebooks all the way to PDF training guides, you will find that these resources can help you understand the science behind dog training.

Communicating With Experts And Other Dog Owners

Another thing which can help you train your dog is the ability to communicate with other pet owners that have experienced similar situations. If the community of your chosen dog training service can’t help you, another choice would be to seek out expert advice, either through email or online chat.

Conclusion

Now that we have covered the basics of online dog training, we can move on to our review of one of the best online dog training services around. Let us know what you thought of this guide in the comments section below.